Ohio teen defies objections from parents, gets vaccinated

NORWALK, Ohio (CNN) — An Ohio teen shared in a popular Reddit post about two months ago that his parents “think vaccines are some kind of government scheme.”

Ethan Lindenberger said he had never been vaccinated for anything until recently.

Against objections from his parents, he went out to get vaccinated for the first time after turning 18.

In the Reddit post, Lindenberger called his parents “kind of stupid” for their opposition to vaccines, but he described their conversation about his decision as civil.

“It really wasn’t like I kind of raised my fist in the air and said like, ‘You idiots, I’m getting vaccinated.’ I sat down with them and I said, you know, this is the evidence I have and I presented it as best I could and they didn’t agree,” said Lindenberger. “Once I turned 18, I said you know, even though we disagree still, I’m going to pursue vaccinations. And as we worked around that, it wasn’t obviously immediately understood or immediately got across that I was doing it for my own safety and the safety of others. It’s now in a great spot. My parents are very happy that I’m continuing to express that the importance of vaccines is beyond just me and other people, and I’m glad to share that story.”

The Centers for Disease Control reports outbreaks of measles and mumps throughout the U.S.